APP OF THE DAY: Spotify preview release (BlackBerry)

Spotify continues to extend its web of musical streaming onto just about every platform imaginable, just recently Facebook integration was added and now finally long overdue BlackBerry connectivity is nearly complete.

As of now the Spotify app exists in preview form, with Spotify themselves stating that it has only been tested on 9780 Bold, 9700 Bold, 9300 Curve, 9000 Bold, 8520 Curve GSM handsets. As such you could encounter problems running it on other devices. Make sure to tell Spotify if you do, as it will mean things are fixed when the final release emerges.

Spotify

The first thing you are going to want to get yourself is a subscription to Spotify premium before you even think of firing this app up. Using the streaming service on the go requires a £10 per month fee to enjoy the mobile app. For this you get advert free, uninterrupted streamed music as well as the ability to store tracks offline to play when out of reception on both computer and mobile, oh and Spotify ups the bitrate on music to 320kbps. It's a pretty good deal all things considered.

So once you have the subscription sorted and app downloaded you are going to want login and fire up Spotify. Click remember me unless you have multiple profiles, it saves you doing it all over again when you next fire up the app.

On the top of the app are four music related icons, the first, sat on the left, is where you manage your playlists. You can do this via either your computer, which you can also tell which tracks you want synced and stored on your handset, or via the phone itself. Spotify unlike iTunes relies heavily on playlists for you to find music, we advise saving anything you like to a playlist, that way in future you wont have to keep searching for it.

The next icon is the "search". This is what makes Spotify really exciting, in that provided you have reception you can simply search and stream a track instantaneously. Spotify also has a pretty diverse track library so expect a few surprises you didn't imagine the service to have.

Next up is the news tab, this is good for those who follow mainstream music and pop. It shows what new releases have been added to Spotify as well as top lists and a sort of Spotify curated chart.

Finally you have the actual player itself which sits on the far right, this one speaks for itself really. You can play, pause and rewind tracks from here. If you are streaming don't try skipping ahead too much or you might find things need to buffer all over again.

All in all a pretty good effort from Spotify. Shame we didn't see things coming to BlackBerry earlier and that this isn't a final release. All the while, it is good for Spotify Premium users to be enjoying the service on their BlackBerrys.

Like the idea of Spotify on your BlackBerry? Let us know in the comments below ...

The baby of the Lint team, Hunter has been a tech fan since he bought his first MiniDisc..and what a waste of money that was. He began writing about electronics at the age of 16 and hasn't stopped since. Nowadays he fulfils his mobile phone and gaming obsession whilst attempting to distract people from his bizarre name. Regular meetings with the Gladiators crew see Hunter often returning to work battered and bruised. Considers himself a music obsessive, was once the most highly decorated scout in the country. Fan of trousers.